Jean Denton

North Texas Catholic

A few weeks before Easter, I was talking with a 7-year-old member of my parish about his anticipation of his first Communion. Along with his older stepbrother, he’d been preparing for it for months through Rite of Christian Initiation classes for Children.

It was clear the boys had discussed the impending event quite a bit, so when Evan said he was excited about it, I knew he had a reason.

“What is it that makes you excited about it?” I asked him.

The likeable, precocious youngster was only too happy to explain. “Getting the blood and body. I don’t mean to be disrespectful,” he said earnestly, his voice rising, “but when I’m at church and I see the bread and wine on the altar, I get really hungry and really thirsty.”

Wow, I thought. We all should be so respectful.We all should be so hungry and thirsty for Christ within us and so trusting that his body and blood will satisfy our longing.

This weekend’s readings celebrate Jesus’ sacrificial gift of himself to nurture and save us. The Gospel, in which He multiplies the loaves and fish so that everyone will be fed, reminds us that after He spoke to them, healed them, and satisfied their hunger, there was more food left over.

That’s the important takeaway of this story. At the Last Supper, Jesus offered his body and blood for our spiritual nourishment. In the miracle on the hillside, He showed that his body and blood will always be there to give life to those who seek Him.

In Evan’s innocent words of wisdom, he also reminded me how important it is to conscientiously live the life Jesus pours into us through his body and blood. We must not only receive it but also participate in it so that, like his first disciples, we recognize and serve those among us who are really hungry and really thirsty for Him.

QUESTIONS:When in recent weeks have you witnessed someone’s hunger or need for Christ’s life within them? How can you help provide the spiritual nourishment that you have received yourself from Him?

June 2, The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.Cycle C. Readings: